Maine West High School, also known as Maine West or MWHS, is a public four-year

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

, a northwest suburb of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in the United States. It is part of

Maine Township High School District 207 Maine Township High School District 207 is a school district based in Illinois. Composed of all of Park Ridge and most of Des Plaines, as well as portions of Glenview, Harwood Heights, Morton Grove, Niles, Norridge, and Norwood Park Townsh ...

, which also includes Maine East High School and

Maine South High School Maine South High School (officially known as Maine Township High School South) is a public four-year high school located in Park Ridge, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High S ...

. Maine Township High School West serves most of

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after th ...

and a portion of Rosemont.>

History

In 1957, with the population of the district predicted to rise, the school district leadership purchased of land which had been the location of two truck farms. While the school was designed to be home to 3,000 students, there was concern about the environment being too large. Thus, the school's design was made with a central core, and three classroom wings, each of which would be its own separate school. While opened in time for the start of the 1959–60 school year, the school was formally dedicated on November 8, 1959. In 1974, Maine West won a contest to have

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

play at their school. On November 2, 1974, Kiss played in Maine West's auditorium. On October 31, 1980, five days before the 1980 presidential election,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appeared at Maine West with actors

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

and

Robert Conrad Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series '' The Wild Wild West'', playi ...

, giving a 30-minute address to the students and other invited guests.

Academics

In 2008, Maine West had an average composite ACT score of 21.7, and graduated 92.9% of its senior class. Maine West has not made

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ...

on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, which with the ACT comprise the assessment tools used to fulfill the mandates of the federal

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...

. While the overall school did achieve their AYP, two student subgroups did not meet minimal requirements in reading. In 2002, Maine West was the only school in District 207 and one of only 50 nationwide to receive U.S. News & World Report's Award as an "Outstanding High School." The school was recognized in the local media and with a plaque. This award recognizes schools where performance of students exiting compared to entering high schools exceeds expectations. Maine West received its third such award—the most in District 207—from U.S. News in 2018 with Maine West ranked 27th and Maine East 46th among the state's 670 public high school. In 2008, District 207 applied for and received nearly $1,000,000 from the Department of Education through the Teaching American History grant for U.S. History. All three schools and seven partner districts participate in the program coordinated at Maine West and the Chicago Metro History Education Center. The Teaching American History Grant was extended and received funding for two additional years in August 2011. The school offers 16

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses:

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, Physics (C), Calculus (BC), U.S. History,

Statistics Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, indust ...

, Computer Science (AB),

Spanish Language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

Spanish Literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature (Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects w ...

European History The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

Micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer * Chii Tomiya (都宮ち ...

/ Macro Economics,

Music Theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (k ...

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

, and Studio Art. The school offers the opportunity to study five foreign languages: French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

, and Spanish. As of 2010, Maine West does not offer Chinese on campus, but a student has the option to take the class at Maine South in the morning if they would so choose to do so.

Athletics

Maine West competes in the Central Suburban League. They also compete in state championship series tournaments sponsored by the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...

(IHSA). The school sponsors interscholastic competition for men and women in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

& diving,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

. Men also may compete in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Women may compete in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. The following teams won their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet: *Badminton (girls): 1982–83 *Baseball: 1962–63 *Basketball (girls): 1987–88, 2018-19 Of special note are the 65 consecutive wins by the girls basketball team which encompassed the entire 1987–88 season, and lasted until February 13, 1989. As of 2010, this remains the record (including State Series playoff games) for girls teams in Illinois, and second among boys and girls basketball teams in the state. The IHSA also recognizes that Maine West is the caretaker of all records posted by the now closed

Maine North High School Maine North High School (officially was known as Maine Township High School North) was a public four–year high school in Des Plaines, Illinois, United States, located northwest of Chicago. Maine North was located in unincorporated Maine Townshi ...

, though that school did not finish high enough in any sport or activity to warrant mention. While not sponsored by the IHSA, Maine West is one of fewer than ten schools in Illinois to compete in varsity

. Maine West competes in the Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference which also includes teams from Wisconsin and Indiana. The Maine West girls team won the Conference Championship each year from 1981 through 1986. The boys won the Conference Title in 1989. Lacrosse is also being added to the list of sports offered at Maine West.

Notable alumni

* Adrian Fulle (class of 1990) is a director and writer of films such as '' Love 101''. *

James Kahn James Kahn (born December 30, 1947) is an American medical specialist and writer, best known for his novelization of ''Return of the Jedi''. Born in Chicago, Kahn received a degree in medical studies from the University of Chicago. His post-gra ...

(class of 1965) is a physician, author and screenwriter whose works include an episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', 4 episodes of '' Star Trek: Voyager'', and 21 episodes of '' Melrose Place''. His books include the novelizations for ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

'', '' Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', and the recent collaboration with George Lucas to write the 25th Anniversary edition of the original Star Wars trilogy. *

Tyler Ladendorf Tyler James Ladendorf (born March 7, 1988) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago Cubs. He currently serves as a coach for the Tennessee Smokies ...

player for Oakland Athletics *

Jim Lindeman James William Lindeman (born January 10, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played mostly in the outfield and at first base, appearing in parts of nine seasons in the majors from 1986 until 1994. Professional career He was the S ...

is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player who played in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. *

Jeff Daniel Phillips Jeffrey Daniel Phillips is an American actor and filmmaker. Career He is best known for playing a caveman in a popular series of GEICO commercials. He played the part of Maurice in the short-lived ''Cavemen'' sitcom on ABC. Other credits to him ...

played one of the cavemen in a series of Geico television commercials. * Dean Starkey (class of 1985) 1997 World Championships Pole-vault bronze medalist. *

Angela Dugalić Angela Dugalić ( sr-cyr, Ангела Дугалић; born 29 December 2001) is a Serbian basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. Internationally she represents the Serbian national team. She also holds American citizenship. College career Du ...

(class of 2020) was a

Power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

for the Serbian national team that won the gold medal at the

Eurobasket 2021 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Central Suburban League Des Plaines, Illinois Public high schools in Cook County, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1959 1959 establishments in Illinois